


Counterclockwise

by AzzleDazzle



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Auguste (Captive Prince) Lives, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 04:33:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13605615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzzleDazzle/pseuds/AzzleDazzle
Summary: In truth, it’s only instinct that allows Damen to block the swing. Instinct and, perhaps, a touch of deja vu. Instinct carries him through the fight, but this time, he knows the stumble is not a feint, and he does not press his advantage.“Parley!” he calls in Veretian over the crash and ring and shouts that surround the two princes. Auguste steadies himself, looking confused as he stoops to pick up his sword. “I wish to call parley with you, Prince Auguste.”“Parley?” Auguste pants. The lines of his body are heavy with tiredness and he looks unsure, and yet… “I will parley with you, Prince Damianos.” His sword lowers even further, leaving him open to any attack; Laurent would have never done such a thing.Laurent, who Damen was just fighting in the ring, who had just been teasing him as Damen gave a step, Laurent, whose words ring in his ears now, past all the confusion Damen is feeling as he stands in the middle of a battlefield, fighting a fight that is 13 years past.





	Counterclockwise

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Captive Prince tumblr ficlets](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6165859) by [Fahye](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fahye/pseuds/Fahye). 



> This was inspired by chapter 34 of Fahye's Captive Prince tumblr fics, where Laurent time travels. I won't put spoilers, but it's better than this mess, so go read that.

In truth, it’s only instinct that allows Damen to block the swing. Instinct and, perhaps, a touch of deja vu. Instinct carries him through the fight, but this time, he knows the stumble is not a feint, and he does not press his advantage.

“Parley!” he calls in Veretian over the crash and ring and shouts that surround the two princes. Auguste steadies himself, looking confused as he stoops to pick up his sword. “I wish to call parley with you, Prince Auguste.”

“Parley?” Auguste pants. The lines of his body are heavy with tiredness and he looks unsure, and yet… “I will parley with you, Prince Damianos.” His sword lowers even further, leaving him open to any attack; Laurent would have never done such a thing.

Laurent, who Damen was just fighting in the ring, who had just been teasing him as Damen gave a step, Laurent, whose words ring in his ears now, past all the confusion Damen is feeling as he stands in the middle of a battlefield, fighting a fight that is 13 years past.

_ Auguste was like you ... He had no instinct for deception; it meant he couldn't recognize it in other people _ . Laurent’s words from so long ago echo in his mind.

But Damen would not be deceiving anyone; if he was here, on this field again after so long, there must be a reason. Damen could…

He could fix everything. He could parley with Auguste, a real one that is not a front for deception like the one that morning had been. He could… he could…

He could save Laurent by saving Auguste.

“Prince Auguste, I will make parley with you, but first, I need you to know that there is a plot against your father. You need to get him to safety,” Damen says, sheathing his own sword and stepping forward with his hands open in a gesture of peace. “There is a plot against you, as well, but there is an archer lying in wait for a moment, just a single moment, where he will take aim and you will become king before your time.”

Auguste blinks at him in surprise. Around them, the sea of noise has slowed, the echoing sounds more distant as the closer soldiers realized that they were not fighting. 

_ Auguste was like you _ … 

But would he trust a foreign prince with whom he had just been fighting?

“Please. Send word to your father to take cover,” Damen presses urgently. He doesn’t know if Paschal’s brother will still take aim if the king doesn’t remove his helm, but he doesn’t want to find out either.

A Veretian soldier, one who had stopped fighting, comes when Auguste beckons him, informing him to tell the king that the princes wish to parley and that he should take refuge while they talk.

“How did a prince of Akielos come to know of this plot against me, and my father?” Auguste asks once it’s clear that his messenger would make it through the fight still raging on the outer edges of where they stood.

How would, how  _ could _ , Damen explain something he himself did not understand? There is no way to explain that he suddenly appears to have moved backwards in time without sounding mad.

“I cannot say, though I can assure you that it is not by my doing, nor my country’s. But I can lead you to the architect.”  _ And give him the beating he deserves _ , Damian adds mentally, though he knows he will not be able to touch the Regent. “If we move quickly, we should be able to dismantle this plot before it gets much further.”

“ _ Auguste! _ ” The cry rings across the now silent battlefield and Damen’s heart clenches at the sight of a small golden head, one that will be dear to him soon. But Laurent is young now, much too young, and when he leaps off his pony to stand near his brother, Damen can clearly see the pure innocence radiating off him, the way he’s never been able to see. This Laurent has not been beaten by his uncle’s abuse, doesn’t carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. But the look he levels at Damen is familiar. “Auguste, they said you called for a parley, that there’s a plot against Father,” Laurent says quietly. “Did you beat this brute into submission, is that why they stopped?”

Damen bites back a chuckle before saying, “I called a parley after disarming your brother. I no longer wish to quarrel.”

Laurent looks visibly surprised to hear Damen speaking his language with ease as he looks at Auguste. “Is this true?”

“Yes. Hush now, we need to make haste, according to Damianos,” Auguste replies, finally sheathing his sword after Damen does the same.

“I believe I know where the archer is hidden, or at least where he will go whether he’s successful or not. But you must trust me, and believe that I wish to end the fighting and allow peace between our countries.” Damen pauses, adds, “Delpha is yours; it should stay in Veretian hands. Let no more blood be spilled this day.”

“And your father will accept this?” Laurent asks skeptically.

“I will make sure he does.”

Laurent stares at him hard, once more reminding him of his own husband, before he tells Auguste, “I believe him.”

That’s apparently all Auguste needs, for he sends out word that there is a parley and no more fighting is to be done unless the Crown Prince says otherwise. Damen spots Nikandros and passes along the same message to his troops.

Then, against the odds, he steps close to the brothers and crosses enemy lines to root out the real villain. Laurent will be safe in this lifetime, and every other one if Damen can help it.


End file.
